Seiu

Information may not be reliable

For the past five Wednesday mornings, 27 SEIU members have been studying conversational Spanish in an effort to improve communication with the patients they serve.The idea came from HealthPartners pharmacists who felt theyd deliver better service to Latino patients if they could have a basic conversation with them in their native language.They presented their idea to the SEIU / HealthPartners Education and Training Fund Committee and requested funding to hire Normandale Community and Technical College to deliver twenty hours of instruction over a five week period.

Twenty-seven employees, whose Spanish skills ranged from none to several semesters in college a few years ago signed up for the classes which started in September.Evaluation of the classes has been uniformly positive.As one student mentioned, "I greeted one of our Latino patients in Spanish and her entire face lit up with pleasure at being addressed in her native language."
Funding for the Education and Training Fund was negotiated into the last collective bargaining agreement. A committee of six people - three from SEIU Healthcare Minnesotaand three from HealthPartners - jointly administer the fund.For more information on the Education and Training Fund, members working at HealthPartners should search Education and Training Fund on ERIC.

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